The invention relates to a fan grill for use with a fan.
Fans are often used to cool equipment that produces undesirable heat. Fans provide air circulation to distribute cooler air to and/or within equipment and to remove and exhaust warm air from equipment. For example, systems used with communications and information technology equipment employ fans to provide cooler air and/or to dissipate or remove heat produced by electronic components that may be undesirable. Rack-mounted equipment housed within racks and/or cabinets or other enclosures is particularly vulnerable to heat that can affect the performance and/or useful life of electronic components. To help protect the fans associated with equipment, fan grills and fan guards may be used to help prevent objects and to help inhibit debris from contacting fan blades and entering the fans.
In general, in an aspect, the invention provides a fan guard for use with a fan associated with an inlet including a wall defining a port. The fan guard includes a grate configured to inhibit insertion of a finger through the grate while permitting passage of air through the grate, a first bias member connected to the grate and configured to be biased against a first side of the wall of the inlet while the fan guard is mounted to the inlet, and a second bias member connected to the grate and configured to be biased against a second side of the wall of the inlet while the fan guard is mounted to the inlet.
Implementations of the invention may include one or more of the following features. The first bias member is flexible to bias the first and second bias members against respective sides of the inlet while the fan guard is mounted to the inlet. The first side is a bottom lower edge of the wall of the inlet and the first bias member includes a tab configured to connect to the bottom lower edge of the wall of the inlet. The tab comprises a stepped portion configured to connect to the bottom lower edge. The second bias member includes an elongated member extending from the grate and has a terminal end configured to mate with the second side of the wall of the inlet. The terminal end of the elongated member is concave.
Implementations of the invention may also include one or more of the following features. The first bias member includes a circumferential ridge configured to connect to the first side of the wall of the inlet. The first side is a bottom lower edge of the wall of the inlet and the circumferential ridge comprises a stepped portion configured to connect to the bottom lower edge. The second bias member includes an outermost rib defining a perimeter of the grate and has a concave outer surface.
Implementations of the invention may further include one or more of the following features. The fan guard is configured such that a top of the fan guard is substantially even with a top of the wall of the inlet when the fan guard is mounted to the inlet. The grate and the first and second bias members are configured such that the fan guard is inserted in the inlet and the first and second bias members are biased against respective sides of the inlet to mount the fan guard to the inlet. The fan guard is constructed of at least one of a plastic, a metal, a ceramic and a composite.
In general, in another aspect, the invention provides a fan guard for use with a fan associated with an inlet in a housing, the inlet having a bottom side defining a port and an inner side for guiding gas to the port and the housing having a surface in which the inlet is disposed. The fan guard includes a grate configured to inhibit insertion of a finger through the grate while permitting passage of air through the grate, means for biasing the fan guard upward against the bottom side of the inlet while the fan guard is mounted to the inlet, and means for biasing the fan guard downward against the inner side of the inlet while the fan guard is mounted to the inlet.
Implementations of the invention may include one or more of the following features. The means for biasing the fan guard upward against the wall includes a multiple of tabs connected to the grate and configured to connect to the bottom side of the inlet. Each tab includes a stepped portion configured to connect to the bottom side. The means for biasing the fan guard downward against the inner side includes a multiple of support ribs having terminal ends configured to mate with the inner side of the inlet. Each terminal end is concave. The fan guard is configured to be flush-mounted such that a top of the fan guard is substantially even with the surface of the housing, in which the inlet is disposed, while the fan guard is mounted in the inlet.
In general, in still another aspect, the invention provides a method of mounting a fan guard to a housing, the fan guard including a grate configured to inhibit passage of a finger through the grate while allowing passage of gas through the grate, the housing including an inlet having a bottom surface defining a port and an inner surface configured to direct gas to the port, the fan guard further including multiple tabs coupled to the grate and multiple ribs extending from the grate and having terminal ends adapted to mate with the inner surface. The method includes inserting the fan guard into the inlet, aligning the fan guard with the port, bending the tabs connected to the grate relative to the grate and inserting the tabs through the port to connect the tabs with the bottom surface, and allowing the tabs to bias the tabs and the terminal ends of the ribs against the bottom and inner surfaces, respectively, with the terminal ends of the ribs with the wall.
Implementations of the invention may include one or more of the following features. The bending and inserting of the tabs includes applying force to at least one of a top of the fan grill and the tabs.
Various aspects of the invention may provide one or more of the following advantages. A fan grill can be flush mounted to a gas, e.g., air, inlet ring associated with a fan. The fan grill can serve as a safety guard to help prevent finger insertion into, and to inhibit debris from entering, a fan while impeding and disturbing gas flow to the fan less than by using a non-flush mounted fan grill. The fan grill can impede and disturb gas flow to a fan less, e.g., about eight percent, than compared to gas flow to the fan without a fan grill or guard. The fan grill can be readily installed in a gas inlet ring that provides gas flow to a fan. The fan grill can securely connect to a gas inlet ring without mounting hardware, and can be used with existing gas inlet rings and fans. Insertion and/or removal of rack-mounted equipment may be facilitated.